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Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Gasoline prices averaged $3.428 a gallon in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area in December 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that area gasoline prices were comparable to last December when they averaged $3.368 per gallon. Chicago area households paid an average of 16.1 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in December 2024, unchanged from December 2023. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.047 per therm in December was up from 0.968 cents per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)
At $3.428 a gallon, gasoline costs in the Chicago area were 15.1 cents higher than the national average of $3.277 a gallon in December 2024. Over the past five Decembers, gasoline prices in the Chicago area have ranged from $3.558 to $2.290. (See chart 1.)
The 16.1 cents per kWh that Chicago households paid for electricity in December 2024 was 1.5 cents, or 8.5 percent, lower than the nationwide average cost of 17.6 cents per kWh. Last December, electricity costs in Chicago were 16.1 cents per kWh, compared to the national average of 16.9 cents. Over the past five Decembers, Chicago area electricity prices have ranged from 16.1 cents to 14.1 cents. (See chart 2.)
Prices paid by Chicago area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.047 per therm in December 2024, 31.2 percent below the national average of $1.522 per therm. Utility (piped) gas prices in the Chicago area have ranged from $1.334 to $0.808 over the previous five Decembers. (See chart 3.)
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Cook, De Kalb, Du Page, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.
The Consumer Price Index for January 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at 7:30 a.m. (CT).
With the publication of January 2025 data in February 2025, several indexes and average price series will be discontinued.
The following CPI indexes will continue to be published at the national level, but will be discontinued for all metropolitan areas, census divisions, and regional size classes:
Electricity
Utility (piped) gas (often referred to as natural gas)
Energy services
Fuels and utilities
Household energy
The following CPI average price series will continue to be published at the national level, but will be discontinued for all metropolitan areas, census divisions, and regional size classes:
Electricity per KWH
Utility (piped) gas per therm
Average prices are estimated from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for selected commodity series to support the research and analytic needs of CPI data users. Average prices for electricity, utility (piped) gas, and gasoline are published monthly for the U.S. city average, the 4 regions, 9 divisions, 2 population size classes, 8 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 23 largest local index areas. For electricity, average prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh) are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm are published. For gasoline, the average price per gallon is published. Average prices for commonly available grades of gasoline are published as well as the average price across all grades.
All eligible prices are converted to a price per normalized quantity. These prices are then used to estimate a price for a defined fixed quantity. The average price per kilowatt-hour represents the total bill divided by the kilowatt-hour usage. The total bill is the sum of all items applicable to all consumers appearing on an electricity bill including, but not limited to, variable rates per kWh, fixed costs, taxes, surcharges, and credits. This calculation also applies to the average price per therm for utility (piped) gas.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
Year and month | Gasoline per gallon | Electricity per kWh | Utility (piped) gas per therm | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Chicago area | United States | Chicago area | United States | Chicago area | |
2023 |
||||||
December |
$3.411 | $3.368 | $0.169 | $0.161 | $1.429 | $0.968 |
2024 |
||||||
January |
3.353 | 3.326 | 0.173 | 0.174 | 1.452 | 1.005 |
February |
3.486 | 3.583 | 0.173 | 0.177 | 1.465 | 1.040 |
March |
3.707 | 4.009 | 0.174 | 0.177 | 1.429 | 1.015 |
April |
3.907 | 4.202 | 0.173 | 0.178 | 1.375 | 0.991 |
May |
3.885 | 4.233 | 0.175 | 0.186 | 1.369 | 1.000 |
June |
3.729 | 4.155 | 0.178 | 0.168 | 1.407 | 1.031 |
July |
3.747 | 4.226 | 0.178 | 0.167 | 1.408 | 1.057 |
August |
3.648 | 4.092 | 0.177 | 0.167 | 1.401 | 1.054 |
September |
3.478 | 3.729 | 0.178 | 0.168 | 1.399 | 1.017 |
October |
3.412 | 3.635 | 0.177 | 0.167 | 1.422 | 1.026 |
November |
3.315 | 3.414 | 0.176 | 0.158 | 1.487 | 1.047 |
December |
3.277 | 3.428 | 0.176 | 0.161 | 1.522 | 1.047 |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2025